At its core, inventory management software is developed to integrate your business’s selling outlets whilst syncing orders, returns, customer information and accounts back to your back office.

Using advanced technology and automation, inventory management allows retailers of all sizes to manage, organise and track their purchases, product sales and other core processes.

Whether a business is operating online or in-store, making using of drop-shipping or operating across multiple locations, an inventory system should manage it all from one central source. That means the ability to see at a granular level, everything that is happening with your orders; From how much stock is in your inventory, what’s on back-order, and what’s being held up in the warehouse.

With the right system in place, your business should also know the profitability around every item in your inventory, your most successful (and unsuccessful) promotions, as well as the performance of different suppliers. As well as equipping your team with the tools to work efficiently, you’re equipping your business with data to make important strategic decisions.

It’s common for small businesses to assume that inventory management is an expensive investment – and will instead rely on other workarounds to track their inventory.

Traditionally, inventory management services needed to be purchased outright hosted onsite, and run by a set of developers. The costs involved in the upfront payment and ongoing upkeep often meant smaller businesses could not afford to invest. Fortunately, the growth of inventory management solutions and ERP in general over the last century has fuelled the demand for more accessible products.

Cloud-based inventory management software is perfect for SME’s (small to medium enterprises) looking for a more affordable, and easy to implement solution. Instead of a one-off purchase cost, cloud-based platforms often employ affordable monthly subscription based on users.

For SME’s, it’s also worth remembering that implementing a cloud-based inventory management system won’t take nearly half the time that a larger-scale operation would. Within six weeks, businesses can have their entire operation running better than it ever did before. Find out more on our inventory management pricing here.

From the moment an order arrives on-site to the moment it leaves, our system will ensure every item is tracked, allocated, and delivered to the right place at the right time – be that among your warehouse, or with your courier. This is particularly useful for those making utilising drop-shopping and will never be in physical contact with any stock. Our shipping management features offer customers access to branded slips and invoices, shipping labels, unique courier rules and more.

Khaos Control is proud to offer integrations with many leading shipping couriers, but should you need an integration we don’t currently offer, our open API can align with your specific shipping requirements.

Whether it’s finances, sales, customers or suppliers, small business owners already have a lot to stay on top of. The simple fact is, if you’re handling stock in your business, you should be making the most of free or start-up inventory management tools.

Advances in inventory and stock control technology mean there’s a number of different tools catered specifically for smaller businesses, all for a reasonable cost. Even if you’re not selling in large quantities, it’s important to track and monitor your inventory flow. As your business grows, so do the levels and scale of your inventory demands. Implementing the right inventory management tool means your business can scale gracefully, without the hassle of data migrations or training staff on new systems.

To make small changes to your current inventory management process (with or without a system in place) we suggest checking out our inventory management tips for small businesses.

Whether you’re operating a single store, several retail outlets or multiple distribution centers, you can manage your inventory at site level, keeping stock levels for each site separate and distinct. Our inventory management software allows you to control each of your sites virtually, fulfilling orders and moving stock back and forth, all from one central location.

Out of stock of a product at one of your sites? The immediate visibility of stock levels means you can quickly fulfill orders with stock held at your other sites. This offers a new level of flexibility when it comes to sales order fulfillment, and ensures your customers stay happy, even in a stock emergency.

Just as a normal site would operate, you can use ‘virtual sites’ to separate stock for specific marketplaces, customer groups or trade shows.